Table 3.

Unauthorized Food Manipulation regarding contamination in food products, 2010–2020.

Country, Year	Food	Unauthorized Food Manipulation *		Adulterants	Case	Reference
		Fraud Type (USA): (a) FDA 401, 403 (b) Spink & Moyer (2011) (c) Manning & Soon (2016)	Fraud Type (EU) 178/02, article8
Honey
Europe, 2017	Honey combs	Adulteration Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Paraffin, stearin	Beeswax intended for use as a base for honey combs was adulterated with paraffin and stearin in order to make a profit. Apart from risks for bee health related to the presence of stearin and paraffin in beeswax, consumers can eat these harmful adulterants incorporated in honey combs 1,2.	[61]
Oil
China, 2011	Cooking oil	Adulteration Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Recycled cooking oil	In China, potentially cancerogenic recycled cooking oil is often collected from sewage drains and gutters behind cooking facilities and then sold to restaurants 1,2,3.	[62]
Morocco, 2018	Olive oil	Adulteration Counterfeiting	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Olive-oil-like capsules	Unknown toxic substances in capsules were mixed with water for the unauthorized production of olive oil and sold as olive oil in several regions of Morocco 1,2,3.	[48]
Brazil, 2020	Olive oil	Adulteration Tampering Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Lampante olive oil	According to the Brazilian authorities, 64% of analysed samples of olive oil in the last two years were mislabelled. Some of the oils labelled as olive oil (15%) contained lampante olive oil (intended for use in lamps) that is not fit for human consumption 1,2,3.	[30]
Taipei, 2020	High quality olive oil	Adulteration Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Low grade palm oil	A food-processing company was accused of falsely labelling low-grade palm oil and other cheap oils as high quality olive oil. These blends also contained artificial colorants that were harmful to human health 1,2,3.	[57]
Alcoholic drinks
Czech Republic 2012	Becherovka and other liquors	Adulteration Counterfeiting Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Methanol	Due to methanol poisoning, 41 people died and many more were admitted to hospital. The sources of the methanol were liquors, so the government banned the sale of liquors with more than 20% alcohol to prevent further health damage 1,2,3.	[63]
Cambodia, 2012	Rice wine	Adulteration Counterfeiting Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Methanol	After drinking rice wine contaminated by methanol, 49 people died and more than 300 people were hospitalized 1,2,3.	[8]
Ukraine, 2016	Vodka	Mislabelling Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Methanol	Thirty-eight people died after drinking vodka made from methanol 1,2,3.	[64]
India, 2017	Alcohol	Adulteration Substitution	Deceiving practice	Methanol, antifreeze	At least twelve people died after consuming illegally produced alcohol that contained toxic substances (methanol and antifreeze agent) added to increase alcohol strength 1,2,3.	[65]
Italy, 2018	Wine	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Synthetic aromas	A total of 3000 hectoliters of poor-quality synthetic wine aromas were added to deceive consumers 1.	[47]
Belgium, 2020	Red wine	Adulteration Counterfeiting Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	MDMA, MDA	A woman died after drinking red wine Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 that contained high levels of the amphetamine-like stimulants MDMA (ecstasy) and MDA. The counterfeited wine had a brown cork, while genuine wine (brand Black & Bianco) has a black cork 1,2,3.	[54]
Kuwait, 2020	Alcoholic drink	Adulteration Counterfeiting mislabelling Homicide	Mislabelling Deceiving practice Murder	Alcohol for perfume production	Four people died and six were in critical condition in Kuwait after drinking alcoholic beverages with alcohol intended for perfumes, not for producing alcoholic beverages 1,2,3.	[35]
Mexico and Dominican Republic, 2020	Alcoholic drink	Adulteration Counterfeiting Mislabelling Homicide	Mislabelling Deceiving practice Murder	Methanol	In Mexico and the Dominican Republic, 105 and 177 people, respectively, died after drinking fraudulently produced alcoholic drinks that contained methanol 1,2,3.	[66]
Meat
Brazil, 2017	Fresh meat	Adulteration Dilution Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Non-fresh meat, meat contaminated with Salmonella	A huge food fraud was discovered in the Brazilian meat sector. Several malpractices were carried out: intentional distribution of meat contaminated with Salmonella, adding chemicals to make meat look fresh, adding water to increase weight, adding soy to increase protein content. Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of beef and chicken, had exportation losses corresponding to 0.2% of its GDP 1,2,3.	[67]
Brazil, 2018	Chicken meat	Simulation (illegitimate product looks as legitimate)	Deceiving practice	Chicken meat contaminated with Salmonella	A few official control laboratories were accused of replacing samples of meat contaminated with Salmonella with meat samples that fulfilled the legislative criteria. In this way, the contaminated meat had health certificates required for export to the EU. The EU banned entries of the affected lots of frozen chicken meat 1,2,3.	[50]
Kenya, 2018	Fresh meat	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Non-fresh meat	Some butchers treated meat with sodium metabisulfite that give meat a red color for weeks. This chemical can induce allergic reactions to consumers who are sensitive to sulfites 1,2,3.	[39]
Spain, 2018	Meat	Adulteration Tampering Mislabelling Dilution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Meat contaminated with Salmonella	Fifty tons of meat that posed a risk to human health were seized. The meat was intended to be sold to schools, restaurants, and hotels. Several illicit practices were discovered: mislabelling, defrosting of the meat by adding warm water, and the addition of viscera and pork blood to increase its weight. Some of the seized meat expired more than three years earlier and was contaminated with Salmonella 1,2,3.	[50]
Portugal, 2019	Fresh meat	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Non-fresh meat	Many analysed meat samples contained sulphite, a forbidden substance added to meat to enhance appearance by inhibiting discoloration 1,2.
Eggs
Netherlands, 2016	Eggs	Adulteration Tampering Unauthorized chicken treatment	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Eggs contaminated with fipronil	The presence of fipronil residues in eggs was probably caused by the illegal use of the chemical on farms in the Netherlands to control red mites in food-producing animals (chickens). This illegal activity has resulted in fipronil detected in eggs and chicken meat. The measured levels in some samples of eggs exceeded EU limits. If consumed in large quantities, fipronil is nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic 1,2.	[68]
Taiwan, 2018	Eggs	Adulteration Mislabelling Tampering	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Expired contaminated eggs	Large distributors of eggs recalled its eggs because they contained antiprotozoal agent nicarbazin, which is forbidden in Taiwan. The company was accused for mislabelling the recalled eggs to extend expiry dates with the intention of selling to restaurants, hotels, and bakeries 1,2.	[40]
Austria, 2020	Eggs	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Rotten eggs	A big distributor was accused of mixing into their products rotten eggs stored for several months, some of them contaminated with chicken feces 1,2.	[54]
Sea food
Argentina, Brazil 2017	Shrimps	Adulteration Tampering	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Sodium tripolyphosphate	Investigators seized 400 kg of the shrimps treated with sodium tripolyphosphate, a forbidden chemical used to retain water and artificially increase the weight of the product 1,2.	[38]
Europe, 2017	Fresh tuna	Adulteration Tampering	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Non-fresh tuna nitrites/nitrates, carbon monoxide	During the EU-coordinated action Europol OPSON VII, it was discovered that tuna intended for canning was sold as fresh. Tuna was treated with chemical substances such as nitrites/nitrates, additives containing high level of nitrites, and/or carbon monoxide that altered its color to give the impression of its freshness. In total, more than 51 tons of tuna were seized and more than 380 samples were taken. Consequently, an increased number of scombroid poisonings (165 cases in 2017) was reported after the ingestion of tuna with high histamine levels due to poor quality. Additionally, the used nitrites may have led to formation of cancerogenic nitrosamines 1,2,3.	[69]
France, 2018	Fish (fresh tuna)	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Salt, potassium lactate, potassium acetate, citric acid, polyphosphate, nitrates, nitrites, ascorbic acid	French authorities received a report that, apart from adding water to increase fish weight up to 30%, salt, potassium lactate, potassium acetate, citric acid, and polyphosphate were also added for retaining water. To give tuna a red color, carcinogenic nitrates and nitrites, as well as ascorbic acid were also added 1,2.	[70]
Dairy products
India, 2017	Milk	Adulteration Dilution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Contaminated water, sodium hydroxide, detergents, starch, sugar, urea	According to the findings of Indian authorities, 30% of the milk sold in India is adulterated. Adding contaminated water to increase the volume can have implications for consumers’ health. Sodium hydroxide, detergents, starch, sugar, and urea have also been detected in the adulterated milk 1,2.	[70]
India, 2017	Milk	Adulteration Substitution	Deceiving practice	Glucose and detergents	The authorities discovered 1000 litres of the so-called dairy product “synthetic milk” that contained glucose and detergents 1,2.	[49]
Italy, 2017	Cheese	Adulteration Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Spoiled milk treated with caustic soda	It was discovered that spoiled milk was treated with caustic soda in the production of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. This chemical was used to mask acidification and aging 1,2.	[59]
Brazil, 2018	Milk powder	Mislabelling Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Sugars and other non-authorized substances	During the production of milk powder, sugars and other non-authorized substances were added 1,2.	[48]
India, 2019	Milk	Adulteration Mislabelling	Deceiving practice Mislabelling	Palm oil, detergent, and other chemicals	The Indian authorities have dismantled a unit producing fraudulent milk not fit for human consumption. The owners of the factory transformed 5000 litres of milk into 15,000–20,000 litres by adding substances such as palm oil, detergent, and other chemicals, which was then distributed in the area 1,2.	[52]
Pakistan, 2019	Milk	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Detergent, shampoo, urea, washing powder, and formaldehyde	Some producers of milk in Pakistan sold milk adulterated with detergent, shampoo, urea, washing powder, and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is carcinogenic and used as a preservative. Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of milk in the world 1,2,3.	[42]
Bangladesh, 2020	Milk	Adulteration Counterfeiting Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Detergent, urea, synthetic milk powder	Milk adulterated with detergent powder, urea fertilizer and synthetic milk powder caused severe diseases affecting the kidneys, stomach, and intestine 1,2,3.	[71]
Spices
India, 2018	Spices	Adulteration Dilution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Grass, rice husk, wheat, salt, dyes	Spices such as turmeric, chili powder, fennel, and coriander were mixed in spice production plants with adulterants like grass, rice husk, wheat, or salt. These substances were dyed with unauthorized colors and used to dilute the spices 1,2.	[41]
India, 2019	Spices	Adulteration Dilution Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Wood dust, red brick powder, corn flour, sodium sulfoxylate	The company was selling adulterated spices: wood dust as coriander powder, red brick powder as red chili powder, corn flour as gram (chickpea) flour, and sodium sulfoxylate as jaggery (unrefined sugar made from sugar cane or palm) 1,2,3.	[29]
Pakistan, 2019	Spices	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Rice husk and different colorants	Rice husk was added to chili powder, and different colorants were used to increase the color of the spices. In the same factory, 1700 kg of rice and 16 kg of colorants were seized 1,2.	[51]
Spain, 2019	Spices (saffron)	Adulteration Dilution Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Plant extracts, chemical reagents	In a production plant, genuine saffron was mixed with parts of the plant not considered food, as well as with extracts from other plants and chemical reagents 1,2.	[56]
USA, 2019	Spices (curcuma)	Adulteration	Deceiving practice	Lead chromate	Stanford University detected lead chromate in curcuma that was produced in Bangladesh. Some samples contained more than 500 times the maximum lead amount allowed in US 1,2,3.	[52]
Pakistan, 2020	Spices	Adulteration Substitution Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Nonfood-grade colorants	Chili powder was mixed with dangerous substances such as non-food-grade colorants and other chemicals 1,2.	[54]
Other
Pakistan, 2019	Tea	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Colors, bark	Authorities seized more than two tons of black tea adulterated with colors and bark 1.	[31]
Bangladesh, 2018	Fruit juice	Adulteration Substitution, Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Chemicals	A factory produced fruit juice that did not contain any fruits and contained hazardous chemical substances 1,2.	[40]
Columbia, 2017	Sugar	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Sulphur dioxide	About 850 kg of panela (unrefined whole cane sugar) was adulterated with sulphur dioxide to look fresher. The levels of adulterants were high enough to present a risk for consumers’ health 1,2.	[59]
India, 2017	Tea Sugar	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Coal tar Sodium hydrosulphide	A batch of 1.5 tons of tea was adulterated with coloring agents extracted from coal tar to make the prepared tea to look stronger and more appealing. It makes the prepared tea appear stronger, and thus more easily sold. In the same city, 1620 kg of jaggery (solidified palm sugar) were adulterated with dyes (sodium hydrosulphide) to look more appealing 1,2.	[72]
Kenya, 2018	Brown sugar	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Copper, mercury	Illegally imported Brazilian brown sugar was confiscated due to contaminations with copper and mercury, which are harmful to consumers. It was intended for transport to sugar factories in Kenya for further refining 1,2,3.	[60]
India, 2017	Snacks	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Illegal dyes	Four hundred kg of snacks (e.g., chips, samosas, tomato sticks, Szechuan sticks) were confiscated due to the presence of illegal dyes 1,2.	[59]
Nigeria, 2016	Rice	Adulteration Substitution Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Sweet potatoes, synthetic resin, fragrance	The plastic rice entered the national market. This product is made by mixing sweet potatoes and synthetic resin formed into “grains”, which are then sprayed with a fragrance to mimic the smell of Wuchang rice 1,2,3.	[33]
China, 2011	Bean sprouts	Adulteration Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Sodium nitrite, urea, antibiotics, 6-benzyladenine	Bean sprouts were treated with banned food additives (sodium nitrite, urea, antibiotics, and a plant hormone, 6-benzyladenine) to speed up growth and make vegetables look shinier 1,2.	[73]
China, 2011	Chinese cabbage	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Formaldehyde	Vegetable distributors were discovered spraying a carcinogenic formaldehyde solution on Chinese cabbage to keep the products fresh during long transport to faraway markets 1,2,3.	[74]
Lebanon, 2016	Pickled turnips	Adulteration	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Rhodamine B	Rhodamine B, a dye not permitted in food, was added to pickled turnips to accelerate the coloring process and enhance/preserve the coloring. Consumers ingest unauthorized colors, which is potentially both genotoxic and carcinogenic 1,2,3.	[75]
Italy, 2019	Mushrooms (truffles)	Adulteration Substitution	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Bismethylthiomethane	Fifty companies were accused of selling “al tartufo” processed food online, in which the truffles were replaced by the synthetic aroma compound bismethylthiomethane (truffle sulphide) 1.	[43]
Germany, 2016	Hazelnuts	Adulteration Substitution Mislabelling	Mislabelling Deceiving practice	Peanuts	Georgian food companies were accused of mixing peanuts with hazelnuts and selling it as hazelnut for economic gain. These low-quality nut products were exported to Germany, where consumers complained after allergic reactions 1,2.	[76]

* Unauthorized food manipulation (types of criminal offenses) according to Croatian Criminal Law (NN 125/11, 144/12, 56/15, 61/15, 101/17, 118/18, 126/19, 84/21): ¹ Article 236: Fraud; ² Article 188: Production and marketing of a product harmful to human health; ³ Article 215: Endangering the life and property with generally dangerous act or medium [9].